WEST Yorkshire Police is one of the poorest performing forces in the country, say inspectors.
A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary examined the force's crime management and crime levels from April 2002 to March 2003. The inspectors found the force failed to meet targets for reducing robbery, vehicle crime and domestic burglary, and "faces a huge task in meeting the targets for 2004/2005."
The force was due to cut robberies by 14% by April 2005, but instead they had increased by 60% since 1999/2000.
Vehicle crime had gone up 10.1% and domestic burglaries had risen 22.9% over the same period. Burglaries were supposed to go down by 25% and vehicle crime by 30% by 2005.
However, the force was improving its performance on street robberies.
The inspectors said there was an increased demand on a workforce which was under-staffed by 1,000 officers.
When the way of recording crimes changed and the National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in 2002, the force found it had 20% more crimes to tackle.
It also dealt with many major incidents, such as murders, which took officers away from day-to-day policing.
The inspectors suggested setting up a dedicated major incident unit. They were also concerned at the high number of probationary officers.
The inspectors also criticised the force's call handling, saying there were not enough staff to respond within acceptable time limits.
However, they praised efforts to develop training for new officers and congratulated its innovative use of anti-social behaviour orders.
West Yorkshire Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn welcomed the report and recommendations, but said it was a "historical document".
He said the figures were misleading and based on unrealistic targets set three years ago.
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